Float-operated valve mechanism for toilet flush tanks



S. C. WINGER Dec. 14, 1954 FLOAT-OPERATED VALVE MECHANISM FOR TOILET FLUSH TANKS Filed Dec. 12, 1949 Sim 5Q CZ (MA/Gee,

IN VEN TOR.

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RTTOQA/EV United States Patent FLOATsOPERATED"VALVE MECHANISM FOR TOILET. FLUSH TANKS Stove!" C. Winger, Los Angeles, 'Calif.,' assignor .of fifteen per cent to John Flam, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application December .12, 1949, Serial No. 132,486

8 Claims... (Cl..137--416) This: invention relates to a mechanism operated by a float1 .for closing a valve afterthe liquid attains a desired eve Float-operatedvalvesofthis character are commonly utilizedtor toilet flushtanks. In such tanks, when it is desired. to flush the toilet, the water fromthe tankis discharged substantiallycompletely through the1bottom of the. .tank.. An inlet valve near the top of the tank opens when the. water; level in the, tank recedes, and remains open until the water level in the tankattains a desired height, Control of this inlet valveis. accomplished usually1by a valve-operating arm thatcarries a float.v As thetank discharges, the. arm is permitted to descend with the float to open the valve. The egress of waterfrom thetank is stopped by seating of the flush valve. As the level of the water in the tank rises,;-the float also rises, and gradually. the inlet valve is closed.

This gradual closing of theinlet valve causes. inherent difficulties. Although the tank may be only partially filled,- the valvebe'ginsto close; and, toward the end of the-period of rise ofthe water level, thevalve openingis constricted to such an extent that a very small dribble flows. Noisy operation, due to the restricted flow, occurs for'arelatively long period-before the valve finally closes.

It is one'of the' objects of this invention to provide 'a float-operated valve that causes a quick closing at the end of the filling period. lnthis way, the valve remains fully open during substantially the entire period" of operation;

It is another object of this invention. to provide a. floatoperated valvethat is quiet and positive in itsaction;

It is still, another object of this invention to provide a float-controlled apparatus that operates to perform a con= trol function in a reliable and positive manner," and promptly upon approachof the'level of liquid to a desired heig t.

This invention possesses many other advantages,-and

has other objects which may be mademore clearlyapparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. a For this purpose there is shown a form inthe drawings accompanying andforming part of thepresent specification. Theform will now be described'in detail, illus trating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that thisdetailed'description is not to be taken'in a limitingsense, since the scope of this invention is best defined-by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:-

Figure l is a view,mainly in vertical section, of a toilet tank installation incorporating the invention, the tank being shown full;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the float operating mechanism for the 'inlet valve for the tank, shown when the tank is emptying; and

Fig- 3 is a sectional view, taken along a plane corresponding to line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The toilet tank 1 is shown, in this instance, as having a flush valve structure 2 near the bottom of the. tank for dischargingthe body of water 3 downwardly into'the bowl. In order to fill'the tank 1, a conventional inlet valve structure 4 is illustrated. This inlet valve structure has. a valve closure member 5 urged downwardly bycounterclockwise rotation of an arm 6 about a pivot 7. This arm 6 is moved upwardly by the aid of a float 8 thatis buoyant in the liquid '3. This float 8,- as shown most clearlyin .Fig. 3, is of hollow hexagonal form, but any desiredfo'rm may be utilized. The float may. be made oianysuitable material, such as plastic, or thin metal.

At itsupper' end it is provided with a clevis 9, joined as r 2,696,829 Patented Dec. 14, 1954 by a pin '10 to the slotted end 11 of a float arm 12; This float. arm 12 is threaded into the right-hand end. of .the inlet valve-operating arm 6.

In. priordevices, the float.8 begins to. rise as soon as water is passed intothe tank 1 through the inlet valve 4. As the float rises, the arm 12 also rises, and gradually moves the valve closure 5 downwardly. This prolonged, and -.very gradual, closing of the valve would produce undesirable noises for an extended period as the tank.1 is being filled.

In thepresent arrangement, thevalve closure5 is left in full' opening position until. very near the end of the filling operation. -To accomplish this result the .floatn8 does not begin to riseuntil the leveliof the liquid rises to substantially the desired height in tank 1. In this way, the operation of closing the. valve structure 4 is very rapid, and unpleasantnoises, due to constricting the .valve openings, are entirely eliminated.

Forthis purpose, use is made of ,a vertical compartment 13. shown, in this. instance, as cylindrical, andmade of any suitable material, such as metal or plastic. This com: partment 13 is of such size that the hexagonal float 8 is closely confined therein. The compartment 13.. is held in upright position by the aid of a weight 14 telescoped within, and frictionally held in, the open bottom end of the compartment 13. This weight may be in the form of a lead "disc. As the float 8 is confined to a substantially verticalrnovement, due to its connection with the arm 12, there is no substantial tendency for compartment 13 to tip over; and it is not necessary to attach'the compartment 13 permanently to the bottom of the tank 1.

The'topof the compartment 13 is open and, until the water level reaches this open top, the arrangement is such that no water can .flow into the compartment 13. The flow of water into compartment 13 is limited to one portionof the compartment 13 by the aid of a notch 15 in the top edge of the compartment 13. As soon as the water flows over this notch 15, the float 8 very quickly rises, since-only a small amount of water is necessary to fill the space between the compartment Bend the float 8.

In order to ensure that no water will flow upwardly into compartment 13 While the tank is beingfill'ed, a valve arrangement is provided near the bottom of the compartment-'13.

Thus, near the bottom ofthe compartment, a flanged ring =16 is formed. On the flange of this ring a thin rubber valve seat member 17 is disposed, having a central aperture 18 therein. The member 17 is held in place by another ring 19 above the seat forming member 17. The rings16and19 may be made from any appropriate mate. rial. Preferably, a plastic material can be used, which may be joined together by appropriate adhesive materials.

The rubber valve seat 17 is made quite thin, its thickness being exaggerated in Fig.2. Cooperating with this valve seat is a substantially spherical valve closure member 29, formed integrally With-the float 8 and at its bottom. When the tank is emptying, as occurs in Fig. 2, the float. 8 descends and the valve closure 20 seats in aperture 18. The descent of the float 8, however, is limited by. engagementof the bottom wall 21 of float 8 with the top of the ringlfi. Accordingly, there is only a slight deflection of the rubber member 17. Thus, there is no. substantialrestraint against discharge of the water from within the compartment 13 past the seat 17, since the Weight of the water is suflicient to displace-this seat from the closure. 20.

A plurality of holes 22. is provided in the compartment member '13 below the valve seat.

In operation, when the flush valve 2 is opened, the water is dischargedrapidly through. the bottornof the tank, and.

all of the water from above the valve seat 17 is discharged the upper part of the compartment 13 does not receive any water whatever until the level of the Water reaches the notch 15. During this period, the inlet valve structure 4 is fully opened. In a very short period of time after the water begins to flow over the notch 15, the float 8 rises and closes the valve 4. Since the volume of the space between float 8 and compartment 13 is quite limited, the quantity of Water that must flow into the compartment to buoy the float 8 is very small, and a trigger action is effected for opening the valve 17-20.

When the float 8 drops to the valve closing position of Fig. 2, the small volume of water in the space between the float and the compartment 13 is discharged by gravity, as heretofore explained, past valve closure 20. The valve structure 17-20 thus serves as a check valve, preventing upward flow of water through the seat 17, but readily permitting discharge of water downwardly. As the water level recedes below the seat 17, a slight suction effect may be produced, tending to move the member 17 downwardly away from the valve 20, and facilitating discharge of the water from the compartment 113.

The inventor claims:

1. In a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float connected to the valve for closing the valve when the liquid level attains a desired position; means forming a compartment for the float, said compartment having an opening above the lower end, and communicating with the interior of the tank at its lower end; and a pair of cooperating means carried respectively by the float and by the compartment adjacent the lower end of said compartment for forming a check valve urged to closed position by the pressure of the liquid in the tank below said compartment.

2. in a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float connected to the valve for closing the valve when the liquid level attains a desired position; means forming a compartment for the float, said compartment having an opening at its lower end; a check valve structure which prevents flow of liquid into the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowermost position, including a valve seat member and a closure member, one of said members being flexible; the lower end of the float carrying the closure member, the valve seat member being carried by the edge of said opening; and means carried by the compartment for limiting downward movement of the float independently of the valve seat.

3. in a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float connected to the valve for closing the valve when the liquid level attains a desired position; means forming a compartment for the float, said compartment having an opening at its lower end; and a check vaive. structure which prevents flow of liquid into the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowermost position, including a flexible valve seat member disposed in the opening and a valve closure carried by the lower end of the float and cooperating with the valve seat member, said valve seat having a surface exposed to the liquid below the compartment; said valve seat being so supported that it is free to flex upwardly in response to liquid pressure below the compartment.

4. In a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float connected to the valve for closing the valve when the liquid level attains a desired position; means forming a compartment for the float, said compartment having an opening at its lower end; a check valve structure which prevents flow of liquid into the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowermost position, including a flexible valve seat member disposed in the opening, and a valve closure carried by the lower end of the float and cooperating with the valve seat member; and a rest carried by the compartment for limiting downward movement of the float with respect to the valve seat, and holding the valve closure so as to permit escape of liquid from the compartment by deflection of the valve seat away from the closure.

5. In a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float or operating the valve to close it when the float reaches a definite height; means forming a compartment for the float and supported in the tank, said compartment confining the float to move in substantially a vertical direction, and having a cross section area leaving a limited space for liquid around the float, said compartment having an opening above the bottom of the compartment to permit flow of liquid downwardly into the compartment when the liquid level reaches the said opening; and valve means having parts carried by the compartment and the float for closing the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowered position, comprising a valve closure carried by the lower end of the float, and a flexible valve seat carried by the compartment, said valve seat having a surface exposed to the liquid below the compartment; said valve seat being so supported that it is free to flex upwardly in response to liquid pressure below the compartment.

6. In a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float for operating the valve to close it when the float reaches a definite height; means forming a compartment for the float and supported in the tank, said compartment confining the float to move in substantially a vertical direction, and having a cross section area leaving a limited space for liquid around the float, said compartment having an opening above the bottom of said compartment to permit flow of liquid downwardly into the compartment when the liquid level reaches the said opening; a flexible valve seat carried by the compartment; and a valve closure carried by the float and cooperating with the seat to prevent ingress of water into the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowermost position, said valve seat having a surface exposed to the liquid below the compartment; said valve seat being so supported that it is free to flex upwardly in response to liquid pressure below the compartment.

7. in a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float for operating the valve to close it when the float reaches a definite height; means forming a compartment for the float and supported in the tank, said compartment confining the float to move in substantially a vertical direction, and having a cross section area leaving a limited space for liquid around the float, said compartment having an opening above the bottom of said compartment to permit flow of liquid downwardly into the compartment when the liquid level reaches the said opening; a flexible valve seat carried by the compartment; a closure carried by the float closing the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowered position; and means limiting downward movement of the float with respect to the valve seat, and holding the valve closure so as to permit escape of liquid from the compartment by deflection of the valve seat away from the closure.

8. In a mechanism for controlling an inlet valve to a tank: a float for operating the valve to close it when the float reaches a definite height; means forming a compartment for the float and supported in the tank, said compartment confining the float to move in substantially a vertical position, and having a cross section area leaving a limited space for liquid around the float, said compartment having an opening above the bottom of said compartment to permit flow of liquid downwardly into the compartment when the liquid level reaches the said opening; a flexible valve seat supported at its outer edge by the compartment; a valve closure carried by the float and cooperating with the seat to prevent ingress of water into the compartment only when the float is in substantially its lowermost position; and means limiting downward movement of the float so that when the float drops its lowermost position, as the tank empties, the water in the compartment may drain past the valve closure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 224,661 Davis et al Feb. 17, 1880 553,464 Hogan Feb. 5, 1895 774,972 Staples Nov. 15, 1904 865,300 Glidden Sept. 3, 1907 1,084,267 Gleeson Ian. 13, 1914 1,237,276 Ball Aug. 21, 1917 1,397,190 Wiggins Nov. 15, 1921 1,943,569 Warner Jan. 16, 1934 2,040,272 Ricard May 12, 1936 2,088,864 McGrath Aug. 3, 1937 2,093,584 Walker Sept. 21, 1937 2,447,591 Messick Aug. 24, 1948 2,486,336 Smith Oct. 25, 1949 2,592,908 Katz Apr. 15, 1952 

